Sportsman&#39;s lightweight adjustable one legged stool and walking aid

ABSTRACT

A sportsman&#39;s lightweight, adjustable, heavy-duty, one legged stool and walking aid includes a pair of telescoping rods, a locking member to secure the rods together, an adjustable seat at an upper end of the pair of telescoping rods, wherein the seat has a handle portion therein, and a tether to secure the stool to the user. The seat may be in the form of a bicycle type seat whereby the handle is formed by a narrow forward end of the seat. The stool, or leaning post, has the seat in an operative position at all times and it need not be unfolded to be utilized.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/562,869 entitled “Sportsman's Lightweight Adjustable One Legged Stool and Walking Aid” filed Apr. 16, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a one legged stool, and more particularly, to a sportsman's lightweight, adjustable one legged stool and walking aid.

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art

There are many situations where a person will stand in a single location where existing seating is not available, such as hunters, fisherman, Birdwatchers, parade spectators, golf spectators, soccer parents, roadway flagmen and so forth. Lightweight, portable seats are well known and come in many shapes and sizes, but have generally proven to be two bulky to be sufficiently portable for all applications. There still is a need for an easily portable seat or support for a person.

In addressing this there has been developed a number of “Seat Canes” which are walking sticks or canes that incorporate a folded seat, also known as a sling seat, that opens to provide a leaning post or one legged stool to support the user. These seat canes are effectively taller versions of one legged bricklayer stools traditionally used by brick layers and cobblestone workers for working close to the ground without kneeling (e.g. laying streets, walkways and the like). The “Seat Canes”, when deployed as a seat, allow a user to support some or a majority of his weight on the seat cane by forming a tripod between the leg of the cane and the two legs of the user. This is considerably easier on the user than standing. Further the seat canes provide the user with a walking aid when the seat is folded in a stored position. The existing seat cane designs still require work to deploy and store the seat, and have not been widely used or accepted. These seat canes will be referred to as one legged stools and leaning posts, inter-changeably throughout the remainder of this application. There is still a need to improve upon this design and provide a lightweight, adjustable leaning post and walking aid that is simple to use and economical to manufacture.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a durable, low cost, lightweight, adjustable one legged stool and walking aid suitable for a variety of specific applications particularly for sportsmen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above object is achieved with a sportsman's lightweight, adjustable one legged stool and walking aid according to the present invention. The lightweight, adjustable one legged stool and walking aid includes a pair of telescoping rods, a locking member to secure the rods together, an adjustable seat at an upper end of the pair of telescoping rods, wherein the seat has an integral handle portion therein, and a tether to secure the stool to the user. In one embodiment of the invention the seat is in the form of a bicycle type seat whereby the handle is formed by a narrow forward end of the seat. The stool, or leaning post, has the seat in an operative position at all times and it need not be unfolded to be utilized. The present invention is easily utilized by sportsman and others for ease of back pain that can be caused by standing in one location for extended periods of time.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the stool, or leaning post, includes a rubber non-slip base on a distal end of the pair of telescoping rods. Further, each telescoping rod may be formed as an anodized aluminum tube with the locking member formed as a band clamp. The seat of the stool may be adjustably secured to the upper telescoping rod through a pivot connection of the type commonly found on bicycle seats. The seat may be formed from a bicycle seat in which the front portion is narrow enough to be used as a handle by the user.

In another embodiment of the present invention a modified handle of the seat incorporates molded finger grips to assist the user. The stool of the present invention provides advantageous branding opportunities through incorporation of a specified logo on the available portion of the seat, or even on the telescoping rods.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be clarified in the description of the preferred embodiments taken together with the attached drawings in which like reference numerals represent like elements throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a fisherman using the one legged stool and walking aid according to the present invention as a walking aid while traversing a stream;

FIG. 2 is a view of a fisherman using the one legged stool and walking aid according to the present invention as a leaning post while fishing in the stream;

FIG. 3 is a view of a fisherman standing in the stream immediately after using the one legged stool and walking aid according to the present invention as a leaning post;

FIG. 4 a side elevation view of the one legged stool and walking aid as shown in FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the one legged stool and walking aid as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the one legged stool and walking aid as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a one legged stool and walking aid with a modified handle;

FIG. 8 a side elevation view of the one legged stool and walking aid similar to the one shown in FIGS. 1-3 and including a modified seat; and

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the one legged stool and walking aid as shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment of the present invention is shown in detail in FIGS. 4-6. As shown in FIGS. 4-6, the present invention is a sportsman's lightweight, adjustable one legged stool and walking aid apparatus 10. The lightweight, adjustable one legged stool and walking aid apparatus 10 includes an end cap 12 on the distal end of a pair of telescoping rods 14 and 16. Each telescoping rod 14 and 16 is preferably formed as an anodized aluminum tube to provide an atheistically pleasing, lightweight structure of the sufficient strength, in a cost effective manner. Other materials are possible, such as steel, composites or high strength plastics, for the light weight rods 14 and 16. The end cap 12 is preferably formed of a durable non-slip material such as rubber and may be textured to increase the gripping function. The end cap 12 may further include small projections to assist in preventing slippage of the apparatus 10.

The apparatus 10 includes a locking member 18 to secure the rods 14 and 16 together in any of a variety of positions. The locking member 18 is preferably formed as a band clamp tightened by a nut and bolt, or through an eccentric cam locking lever. This type of locking member is commonly found in bicycle seat adjustments and is a cost effective locking member which will be easily utilized and understood by the users. This type of locking member will provide for infinite amount of adjustment to the relative position of the rods 14 and 16 and, therefore, will provide an infinite adjustment to the height of the apparatus 10. Other locking member configurations are possible such as a locking pin extending through aligned holes in the rods 14 and 16.

The apparatus 10 includes an adjustable seat 22 at an upper end of the pair of telescoping rods 14 and 16, wherein the seat 22 has an integral handle portion 22 therein. The seat 20 is adjustably secured to the upper rod 16 through a pivot connection 24. The pivot connection 24 will allow positioning of the seat 20 about a generally horizontal axis (actually an axis perpendicular to the rods 14 and 16). The pivot connection is of the type commonly found on bicycle seats and the pivot connection 24 operates in a generally conventional fashion. The seat 20 is always deployed in that it does not need to be unfolded or moved into an operative position relative to the rods 14 and 16. The seat 20 is simply always available on the top of the upper rod 16. A key feature of the present invention is that the seat 20 includes an integral handle portion 22. One manner of forming the handle portion 22, as shown in FIGS. 4-6, is using a narrow extension of the seat 20 around which a user can easily grasp with a single hand. The seat 20 can be formed of certain bicycle seats (e.g. a racing seat) in which the front portion is narrow enough to be used as a handle by the user. There are no specific dimensional requirements for the handle 22, but a width of less than 3″ would generally be required to form a handle 20 with the extended portion of the seat 20.

The apparatus 10 further includes and a tether 26 to secure the apparatus 10 to the user. One end of the tether 26 is attached to the apparatus 10, preferably near the top of the apparatus 10, in any conventional fashion. For example, the one end of the tether 26 may be tied to the bottom of seat 20. The opposite end of the tether 20 is adapted to be easily attached to the user, such as to a belt loop of the user or the like. A releasable clip 28 may be provided at the end of the tether 26 to simplify the user attachment. The tether 26 can be formed from any suitable material such as nylon rope, leather strapping or the like.

It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates a seat 20 with a modified handle 32 which incorporates molded finger grips to assist the user. Further, FIGS. 8-9 illustrate a modified seat 30 having an integral handle 42. These modifications are clearly within the scope of the present invention. The apparatus 10 of the present invention provides advantageous branding opportunities through incorporation of a specified logo 34 on the available portion of the seat 20, or even the rods 14 and 16. The lightweight, compact, clean look of the apparatus 10, combined with the fact that one legged stools are not particularly common, will help make the branded apparatus 10 be noticed by the general public. For example, the apparatus 10 is particularly well suited for golf spectators of a golf tournament who often traverse a golf course following a given group of players in the tournament. The apparatus 10 could be branded with the logo of the tournament to give interesting additional publicity to the tournament.

Although useful for golf spectators and parade spectators as noted above, the apparatus 10 is probably more useful for outdoor sportsman such as hunters and fisherman. The apparatus 10 will reduce the back pain of users that may otherwise occur when one stands over an extended period of time, particularly when standing in positions associated with sportsman (i.e. hunting and fishing and the like). As shown in FIG. 1 the apparatus 10 can be effectively used as a walking aid by the user when walking to a hunting or fishing spot. It can be particularly useful to a user, such as a fisherman, when traversing a rocky creek or stream bed. In operation as shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus can allow the sportsman to almost effortlessly stay in one location for extended periods of time, even when the location is within a stream itself. For hunters it provides a more stable firing position for guns or bows. The additional stability offered to the user is also useful in other fields. Finally, the tether 26 will prevent the apparatus 10 from falling to the ground or under the water in a stream as the sportsman suddenly stands up (e.g. he has a bite on the line and is setting the hook). The above description is not intended to be restrictive of the sportsman's lightweight, adjustable, portable, heavy-duty, one legged stool and walking aid apparatus 10 of the present invention. For example, in working environments the apparatus 10 can be effectively used by roadway flagmen who spend significant time standing in one location. The scope of the present invention is intended to be defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereto. 

1. A one legged stool and walking aid comprising: a pair of telescoping rods, one rod having a ground engaging member on a distal end thereof; a locking member to secure the rods together; an adjustable seat at a distal end of the other of the pair of telescoping rods, wherein the seat is adjustable relative to the distal end of the associated rod, the seat is in an operable position at all times, and wherein the seat has a handle portion therein; and a tether to secure the stool to the user.
 2. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the seat is a bicycle type seat and the handle is formed by a narrow forward end of the seat.
 3. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein each telescoping rod is formed as an anodized aluminum tube.
 4. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the ground engaging member is an end cap formed of a durable non-slip material.
 5. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 4 wherein the end cap further includes small projections.
 6. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the locking member is formed as a band clamp.
 7. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the locking member is an eccentric cam locking lever band clamp which provides for an infinite amount of adjustment to the relative position of the rods.
 8. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the seat is adjustably secured to the associated rod through a pivot connection that will allow the seat to pivot about an axis perpendicular to the rods.
 9. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the handle on the seat is formed as a narrow extension of the seat around which a user can easily grasp with a single hand, wherein the narrow portion has a width of less than 3″.
 10. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein one end of the tether is attached to the apparatus at the seat.
 11. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 10 wherein a releasable clip is provided at an end of the tether.
 12. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 1 wherein the handle in the seat incorporates molded finger grips to assist the user.
 13. A sportsman's lightweight, adjustable, heavy-duty, one legged stool and walking aid comprises: a pair of telescoping metal rods, a lower rod having a ground end cap formed of a non-slip material on a distal end thereof, a locking member to secure the rods together, an adjustable seat at an upper end of an upper one of the pair of telescoping rods, wherein the seat has an integral handle portion therein, and a tether to secure the stool to the user.
 14. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 13 wherein the seat is a bicycle type seat and the handle is formed by a narrow forward end of the seat having a width of no more than 3″.
 15. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 13 wherein each telescoping rod is formed as an anodized aluminum tube with a logo thereon.
 16. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 13 wherein the end cap further includes small projections.
 17. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 13 wherein the locking member is an eccentric cam locking lever band clamp which provides for an infinite amount of adjustment to the relative position of the rods and the height of the seat.
 18. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 17 wherein the seat is adjustably secured to the associated rod through a pivot connection that will allow the seat to pivot about an axis perpendicular to the rods.
 19. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 13 wherein the handle on the seat is formed as a narrow extension of the seat around which a user can easily grasp with a single hand, wherein the narrow portion has a width of less than 3″, and wherein the seat has a logo thereon.
 20. The one legged stool and walking aid of claim 13 wherein one end of the tether is attached to the apparatus at the seat, and wherein a releasable clip is provided at the end of the tether. 